Red Herrings and Other Fish
by Lakshimbai
Summary: When Grace Van Pelt takes off mysteriously, Lisbon and the team travel to Cleveland to find her, only to be drawn back into the world of the Scoobies. Sequel to Red Blood and Blue Hands. This time with added Faith!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Buffy and friends belong to Joss while Patrick Jane and friends belong to Bruno Heller. Rather unfortunately, I only own the people you don't recognise in the story.

A/N: Welcome back to the world where Patrick Jane has been reluctantly forced to admit the supernatural actually exists! This is set six months after Red Blood and Blue Hands and while it's not necessary to read that to understand this - important points: Jane and Lisbon met Buffy when Robin Wood was murdered, had the big Slayer talk, didn't tell the rest of the team - it might help to understand some of the reactions.

In the Mentalist timeline, this is literally just before the first episode of Season 2 - we go back into the normal Mentalist timeline as the story ends. There's only one big change to Mentalist canon and that's to do with Van Pelt and Rigsby. It's not earth-shatteringly different though.

So, read on, hopefully enjoy and please review!

* * *

It had been six months since Teresa Lisbon's introduction to the supernatural and a lot had happened. The team had come close, so close, to catching Red John, until it had all gone horribly wrong and Jane had been forced to shoot the one man who could have led them to the killer. Lisbon had then been forced to send Jane to the departmental psychiatrist as a result of the shooting and the poor man was apparently still talking about the traumatic experience. The psychiatrist, that was, not Jane. Jane had bounced back into the squad room, acting as though there was nothing wrong. He had persisted with this pretence in spite of all Lisbon's efforts to get him to talk about what had happened. The entire team was aware that Jane was not OK, but he seemed incapable of admitting this.

This had, naturally, led to plenty of tension in the team, as all of them were waiting for the moment that Jane would snap. It seemed obvious to all but the consultant that this was inevitable, which meant none of them were particularly comfortable working with him. Cho seemed least affected, so Lisbon had been pairing him with Jane more. For now, there was little more she could do, except be there for Jane when his act eventually fell apart.

Frankly, the one that worried her most at the moment was Van Pelt. The youngest agent on the team had been acting strangely for the last two weeks, taking furtive phone calls when she thought no one was watching, hanging up the second she felt eyes on her. She'd been late in a couple of times, and keen to leave at the end of they day. It just wasn't like Van Pelt to be like that. Lisbon frowned and called the redhead into her office.

"Close the door, Van Pelt. I need to speak you privately."

"Anything wrong, boss?" Van Pelt looked wary, edgy. Again, not like her at all.

"You tell me." Lisbon had never been one to beat around the bush. "Is anything wrong?"

Van Pelt shook her head. "No. Why would there be?" Then, as if the thought just occurred to her, "Is this about Jane?"

"This is about you. You've been acting oddly for weeks now, coming in late, leaving early, all those mysterious phone calls. I want to know what's bothering you. Maybe I can help," she offered.

Van Pelt just stared at her, her eyes very wide. She licked her lips a few times, clearly thinking of how to distract her boss. Lisbon hid a grim smile; she didn't need Jane to tell her Van Pelt was about to lie. Then, to her astonishment, Van Pelt's shoulders slumped in defeat. "You can't help; it's family. We've just got a few family problems at the moment, and I'm trying to help out. It's not going very well," she admitted sadly.

"Is that all?"

"Yes, just family." Van Pelt was stroking the silver cross necklace she wore, a nervous habit that nevertheless jarred Lisbon somehow. It reminded her of her own cross, a gift from Jane, which she nearly always wore, tucked under her shirt. A gift given after an ordeal that she had never spoken of again, though she'd gone over it in her head a thousand times. Usually after yet another nightmare.

Lisbon gave the younger agent a hard stare and Van Pelt flushed awkwardly, but said nothing. With a sigh, Lisbon shook her head. "Fine. If that's all it is, fine. But if you do need to talk, you know where I am."

"Thanks, boss." Van Pelt gave her a shy smile as she stood up. "Um, actually, I was about to put in for a couple of days leave. I think I need to go back home and try and sort this out."

Lisbon thought through the upcoming days and nodded. "That should be fine. Make sure you're contactable, just in case we get a hot one come in."

"Will do, boss. Thanks."

Lisbon noticed wryly that Van Pelt made a determined effort to join in with the usual team banter for the rest of the day, doing her best to appear normal and as though nothing was worrying her at all. She wondered if any of the others were fooled by the act.

* * *

Grace was increasingly nervous about everything. Lisbon had already noticed something was off, and it was only a matter of time before one of the others said something. To be honest, she was amazed that Jane had so far said nothing. Acting simply wasn't her strong point and she couldn't hide her anxiety over the whole mess. Driving home, Grace thought through the increasingly frantic messages she'd been getting again.

Yolanda, her psychic cousin, had been having bad dreams for months now, always about the same thing. Despite Cho's scepticism and Jane's outright ridicule, Van Pelt had always believed that there was more to the world than met the eye and was convinced of her cousin's gift. There had been too many occasions when she had been scarily right to doubt her. Usually they were about family matters – Grace knew she had been accepted into the CBI long before the acceptance letter had reached her through the mail – but Yolanda sometimes saw other things. She'd woken up screaming on September 10th 2001, talking about falling towers and flames. Grace had put it down to an over-indulgence in Tolkien's _Lord of the Rings_. By the time the second plane hit the Twin Towers, Grace had vowed never to doubt any of Yolanda's warnings again.

So she didn't doubt that her youngest cousin, Marissa, really was in danger. Yolanda had been having dreams about a shadowy creature sneaking up on the young girl, a being that was sometimes confronted by a dark haired warrior. When the warrior was there, the creature was usually driven back. When the warrior was absent, Marissa died screaming. The warrior didn't always manage to fight it off, but its presence gave Marissa a chance.

Grace had been about to put in for some personal leave and go and stay with Marissa and her mother for a while, just in case, when they had received a letter, inviting Marissa to attend a special school in Cleveland. One run by the International Council of Watchers. Grace might believe in the supernatural, but she was too much of a cop to believe in coincidences. This needed looking into. Now.


	2. Chapter 2

Patrick Jane sat in his daughter's bedroom, staring at the hideous red smiley face daubed on the opposite wall. They had been so close. _So damned close_. And now Red John had got away again. He could still hear the roar of the shotgun as he shot Sheriff Hardy, still smell the blood in the air. He shuddered. The only person Patrick considered he had the right to kill was Red John, yet it was Hardy that was dead. It seemed as though there was nothing Patrick could do to escape the blood.

The shrill ring tone of his cell jolted him out of his increasingly dark thoughts. Lisbon was worried about Van Pelt – the young agent had taken a few days leave to go home and visit her family but was a day late in coming back to work. Since she hadn't let Lisbon know about this change in plans, the senior agent was understandably concerned.

"Still no news of Van Pelt?"

"None. Rigsby and Cho haven't heard anything either. Pack a case."

"Wait, what? Where are we going, Lisbon?"

"I cleared it with Minelli. We're going to find her."

"Oh." It occurred to Jane, as he hurriedly stuffed a few clean shirts in a case, that Lisbon really did think of herself as the Team Mom and acted accordingly. He hid a smile; Lisbon would hunt down and kill anyone who hurt one of her team, but if this turned out to be Grace being an idiot, she was in for a dressing down that would make the toughest man cry.

The team met up at Sacramento International and Lisbon handed out their tickets. Jane frowned. "Doesn't Grace live in Iowa? You know the place; it's flat and famous for gullible women?"

Lisbon ignored that remark. "She does live in Iowa. Flight records show that she flew to Cleveland with her cousin Marissa, shortly after arriving back at home though. So, we go to Cleveland."

They landed several hours later and stepped out into a cold, clear morning. Cho and Rigsby were dispatched to hire a car, leaving Jane alone with Lisbon for the first time. "Cleveland. Lisbon, I hate to mention this, but Cleveland is where Buffy Summers and her friends have one of their schools."

"I know. Believe me, I know. I'm just hoping that's a coincidence. Don't say anything to the boys until we know if they're definitely involved."

"Lisbon, trust me when I say I am in no hurry to explain Buffy Summers to _anyone_. I like being thought of as sane."

"Jane, no one here thinks you're sane." Lisbon softened the words with a smile. He smiled brightly back at her and she sighed. "You know, if you do ever want to talk about it…"

"About what?"

"You know what I'm talking about."

"I don't need to talk about it – Hardy was going to kill you, so I killed him. All good, OK? Ah, there's Rigsby with the car!" He strode off before she could say anything else, the smile faltering slightly while he was out of sight of the team. It was firmly back in place by the time he got into the large vehicle Rigsby had hired.

"Where to, boss?"

"Cleveland PD have been good enough to extend us an invitation to use one of their offices as our base." Lisbon directed them through the busy streets to one of the police stations in the leafy suburb of Lakewood. She left Cho and Rigsby to set up their equipment and computers while she went to meet and greet Lieutenant Daniels. Jane, under strict orders not to annoy anyone, was left under Cho's watchful gaze.

"I really do appreciate this, Lieutenant."

"Don't mention it, Agent Lisbon. I'd do the same if it was one of my people who'd gone missing." He hesitated, then took a deep breath and continued, "I have to ask, are you likely to go near the Kendra Young International School for Gifted Girls run by the Watchers?"

Lisbon arched one eyebrow at him. "Not that I know of, no."

"If you do, there are a few rules you need to be aware of. Do not ever speak to any of the girls without one of their guardians being present. I really, really mean that. Do not, under any circumstance, make any of the girls upset, and God help you if you make them cry. Oh, and do not, under any circumstance, leave any of those male agents alone with the one they call Faith."

She fought and failed to hide a smile. "I wouldn't speak to a child without an adult present anyway. Who's this Faith character?" She didn't remember hearing the name from Buffy or her friends.

"She's…" the Lieutenant hesitated again, "she's different. But the one you really need to watch is Xander Harris. Keep an eye on him."

Lisbon blinked. Xander Harris had been the nice, welcoming, slightly goofy member of the group she had met six months ago. If anything, she'd have said he was the least dangerous of them all. "I'll bear that in mind," she said with a small laugh.

"Agent Lisbon, I'm not kidding," Lieutenant Daniels said with deadly seriousness, catching hold of her arm to emphasise his point. "Do not upset these girls. Xander Harris is not a man to be taken lightly."

"I get it, Lieutenant, but all I'm interested in is finding my missing agent."

"We'll give you any help you may need," he reassured her. Lisbon sincerely hoped she wouldn't require any help. The ideal scenario would be to find Grace quickly, in a safe situation, and then spend the next six or seven weeks yelling at her for worrying them all. Ever the realist though, Lisbon doubted it was going to be that easy.

* * *

A/N: Just a quick note - I forgot to mention that this is set immediately after Christmas, just before the schools go back. This is vaguely relevant, I promise.


	3. Chapter 3

Xander Harris was not, at that particular moment in time, feeling particularly dangerous. He had just had a bad bout of flu – Cleveland winters had been a revelation after Southern California – and was still feeling pretty groggy and tired. Dawn had appeared, to spend part of the Christmas holidays with the girls who had stayed at the school over the holidays, and much as he loved both of the Summers girls, they tended to bring chaos with them. Faith had taken over being in charge of the Slayers, so Xander was meant to be able to relax, but the thought of Faith in sole charge of the place was making him deeply nervous. Particularly as she was usually more of a nomad, rarely staying in one place long; just enough time to deal with whatever crisis there was, drink all the rum and move on. She'd been at the School for six weeks now and he was still waiting for the explosion that boredom would inevitably cause. And now, he'd just realised why one of the voices he could hear was so familiar.

Faith and one of the new Watchers, freshly trained from Giles' new facility, were meant to be meeting with Marissa Van Pelt and her cousin, to introduce them to the school and convince them to let Marissa stay. Xander had thought the surname was familiar from somewhere, but honestly hadn't remembered until he heard the voice. The cousin was one of the agents that had gotten involved with Robin's murder a couple of months back. The youngest agent, if he remembered rightly. The one Patrick Jane had said believed in, as the consultant had originally put it, 'Ouija Board nonsense'.

Hoo boy. This could be a problem. Xander hovered outside the door, listening as Kevin Adams enthused about the facilities at the school – the extensive library, the well-equipped gymnasium, the large parkland around the school. The Van Pelts were just making noncommittal noises, perhaps meaning interest, but just as likely not.

Xander took a deep breath and opened the door. Yep, there she was. The tall, pretty redhead agent immediately looked around, narrowed her eyes and nodded to herself. Oh goody, she remembered him too. Well, in fairness, Xander supposed people didn't regularly run into one-eyed men in their mid-twenties who favoured Hawaiian shirts.

"How's it all going? Got any questions?" Ignoring the agent for the moment, he spoke only to Marissa, a younger model of the older woman. She shook her head nervously, her eyes very wide and looked to her cousin for reassurance.

"Mr Harris. I'm sure you remember me. I'm Grace Van Pelt, CBI." Van Pelt held out one hand formally, but her tone was icy cold.

Faith leapt to her feet. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! You're a cop?" For all her bravado, Faith was still jumpy around those in law enforcement, despite knowing that Willow and Dawn, between them, had created a totally new, and untraceable, identity for her.

"Is that a problem?"

"Why would it be?" Xander said easily. "We're just interested in what the family members of our girls get up to. And of course I remember you. You work with Agents Lisbon and Jane and helped solve Robin's murder."

"Jane's a consultant, not a cop," Van Pelt replied automatically, but the acknowledgment of the past seemed to make her relax a little.

"Those cops?" Faith looked over at Xander and he nodded. "Huh. Guess I owe you a beer then."

Van Pelt smiled coldly. "Not until you tell me exactly what is going on here. You've been very welcoming and friendly, but no one has said why Marissa was invited to go to this school. Which, I might add, isn't really a school at all! You just send them to the local public high school and let them live here! Are you going to answer any of our questions?"

"Sure. What's the first one?"

"What the hell is going on?"

Xander grinned. "Ah, one of the difficult ones."

* * *

A few hours later and Grace was sitting outside on the porch swing, wrapped up warmly against the cold breeze. Marissa, after admitting to knowing exactly what Faith was talking about and freaking her cousin out considerably by her apparently instant grasp of martial arts, had gone for a tour of the house, led by a group of three girls, all roughly her age, all dressed in the latest fashion and all, apparently, able to punch through a brick wall without breaking a sweat, or a fingernail.

Needless to say, Grace was having a few problems adjusting. She was also more than a little worried about her job. Having spent a couple of days with Marissa, hearing her side of the scary dreams and talking things through with Yolanda, it had seemed like a good idea to go with her cousin to Cleveland to see what was really going on. She had honestly lost track of time and forgotten to call in to let Lisbon know she was going to need more time, and now she was too scared to do so. She was going to be in huge amounts of trouble – the sort of trouble Jane usually got into, but she wasn't Patrick Jane and she wouldn't be allowed to get away with it. He only did because he was the best at what he did, and she was under no illusions about her own talents.

So now, she was a little stuck. She needed to call in, but she was frightened of Lisbon's reaction. She also needed to stay here a couple of days longer, and if she called in, she'd be ordered back to California immediately, if she wasn't instantly fired.

"You all right there? You're looking a little shell-shocked." Xander Harris sat down next to her on the swing and made it wobble. "Really must fix that," he murmured absently as it creaked ominously. "Anyways, how are you? Sometimes, I think we forget to break it a little easier to the families. The girls, they're fine with it, but it's the families, at least the families that get the truth, who are usually wigged out by the whole 'forces of darkness' deal."

"I think I'm coping." She managed a slightly shaky smile.

"I have to say, of you guys, I think your friend Jane took it hardest. Dawn said he thought he was having a nervous breakdown. Of course, he was about to be become demon-lunch, but still…" Xander trailed off as he saw the total and utter shock on Van Pelt's face.

"Patrick Jane knows about this?" She was shrieking, she knew she was, but Grace couldn't lower her voice. "Patrick bloody Jane knows about this?!"


	4. Chapter 4

Lisbon was truly worried about Van Pelt. They'd checked every hotel and most of the motels in Cleveland and the surrounding area and none of them contained Grace or Marissa Van Pelt. It was as though they'd disappeared off the face of the earth. She'd stopped being angry over Van Pelt's irresponsibility a while back and was now firmly terrified that something awful had happened.

It didn't help that, while she could think up things to keep Cho and Rigsby busy, there was nothing here to occupy Jane. Rigsby was worried, just as worried as she was, but he was a professional and he was coping. Lisbon usually struggled to tell what Cho was thinking, but whatever it was, he too was hanging in there. Jane, on the other hand, was clearly worried. And bored. Not a good combination. It usually meant he was about to do something reckless.

When Lieutenant Daniels came to find her, still frantically calling all hostels and anywhere that the Van Pelts might be staying, she was certain that Jane had done something. So it was almost a relief to find that there was someone who wanted to speak to her.

That relief died away when she saw who it was. Dawn Summers bounced happily on the balls of her feet and smiled brightly as Lisbon walked into the station reception area. Lisbon swallowed hard. She had truly hoped to get out of Cleveland without running into Summers and company again. They were nice kids, of course, but demons and monsters were not what she had signed up for.

"Miss Summers."

"Hey, Agent Lisbon! Is Patrick with you? 'Cause I need some tips! I mean, I tried the whole trance thing and it's so not as easy as he makes it look, you know? So I thought I might be doing it wrong. Is he here too?"

Hope dawned. "He's here. You're just here for some hypnosis tips?"

"Oh! No, not really. Well, yes, obviously, I want some tips, but that would be just a bonus. Really I'm here because your friend Grace and her cousin, and gosh, there's a real family resemblance there isn't there? Anyway, they're both up at the School."

Hope crashed down in flames. "She's with you? Why?"

Dawn frowned. "You guys don't know?"

"No. Tell me."

"Um. I think it might be best if you come up to the School and she can tell you herself. I should warn you, she's, um, a bit ticked off, as Giles would say, because Xander told her that Patrick and you were sort of already in the know about the demon knowledge thing. But I'm sure she'll be pleased to see you!"

"I'm not sure she will be," Lisbon snapped grimly. Now that she knew Grace was apparently unharmed, she was determined to yell at the younger agent until she either cried, or begged for forgiveness. Preferably both.

The drive to the International School for Gifted Girls was tense. Dawn tried chatting to Patrick, but he shot one nervous glance at the muscle twitching in Lisbon's jaw and just shook his head, before keeping very quiet. The two other agents, neither of whom Dawn had known very well, were also keeping noticeably quiet, having spotted the boss' mood.

Instead, Jane sat back and took in the scenery. He wasn't sure what he expected to find at one of the special schools run by the International Council of Watchers, but it didn't take a genius to work out that these schools were for Slayers. Or trainee Slayers. He wasn't totally clear on when a young girl graduated from one to the other. But whatever he expected, it wasn't a big, rambling farmhouse with one of those porches straight out of _The Waltons_. The grass was cut short, but gardening clearly wasn't a strong point as there were more than a few weeds threatening to take over, but the whole place had a lived-in, well-loved, family feel to it. Whatever this place was, it was also a good place to grow up.

Lisbon screeched the car to a halt, having ignored her usual rule of keeping to the speed limits. Jane winced in sympathy for poor Grace. She was in a fair bit of trouble this time. He didn't think he'd seen Lisbon this angry since, well, actually he wasn't sure if he'd ever seen her this angry.

Xander Harris, still as smiling as ever, still with that eye patch that Jane didn't want explaining, came out to greet them, followed by a young woman who moved like a tiger. Long, dark hair hung loose like a lion's mane and her lean, leather clad body moved with the grace of a dancer. Jane shot an amused glance at Rigsby and Cho, both of whom were staring. Practically drooling. He laughed softly.

"Now boys, it's rude to stare at a lady."

His comment had been quietly murmured, for their ears only, but the dark haired woman shot him a highly suggestive glance and laughed throatily. "Blondie, I ain't no lady." He winked at her and she laughed again. "I like him." Dawn bristled slightly at her tone. Patrick was meant to be _her _friend.

"Down, Faith," Xander said easily. "Mr Jane, Agent Lisbon, it's good to see you again. Agent Cho, Agent Rigsby, come on inside. Grace is there, having a donut."

"You got in donuts?" Dawn squealed, barrelling past the CBI, jealousy temporarily forgotten for the greater good of chocolate.

Xander laughed. "If you want a donut, you learn to move quickly in this house."

Inside, it was just as normal as the outside had been. The furniture was battered and patched in places, but it was comfortable and had a welcoming feel. Jane caught the brunette eyeing him in a way that made him feel very much the prey to her predator. He smiled at her and said, "So you're a Slayer too, huh?"

Everyone turned to stare at him. Faith looked surprised, Dawn and Xander were amused while Cho and Rigsby looked thoroughly confused. Lisbon mainly still looked pissed off. "Not just a pretty face," Faith said, her eyes narrowed dangerously. Then she grinned wickedly. "Like I said X-man, I like him. Can I keep him?"

"All this is great," Lisbon snapped, "but where the hell is Van Pelt?"

"Um, here, boss." Van Pelt stood awkwardly in the doorway. "Um. Sorry."

"Sorry?" Lisbon's voice had gone dangerously soft. "You're sorry? Believe me, Van Pelt, you're going to have to do a lot better than that. Sorry?" She snorted derisively. "Sorry!"

Van Pelt looked a little hunted but she said, "Well, you and Jane have been lying to us for months! You've known all about magic and vampires and everything for ages and you never said a word!"

"I don't have to explain myself to you, Van Pelt!"

"Whoa, magic?" Rigsby was smiling, obviously trying to lighten the mood. "Vampires? Van Pelt, did you get hit on the head?"

"I don't think they're lying," Cho said quietly, nudging Rigsby to make him look at Faith, who was currently holding a heavy leather armchair up in one hand. "I really don't think they're lying."

"No shit, Sherlock," Faith grinned, putting the chair down at Xander's glare.

"Faith, no bench-pressing furniture. You know that's House Rule 14."

"Um, Xander?" Kevin Adams hovered at the entrance to the main living room, next to Marissa Van Pelt and two of her new friends. "I think we may have a problem."


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: And here's the first explanation of the problem. All I will say is that you should bear in mind the title of this story....

Also, _Jingo_ is by Sir Terry Pratchett, and if you haven't read it, what have you been doing?! Go, read it now! Or any of the Discworld series, for that matter. They are fantastic, hilarious books.

And now on with my little tale....

* * *

They were never good words to hear, Xander considered briefly. Sure, in the grand scheme of things, there were worse statements. 'There's an asteroid heading for Earth', that was a bad thing. 'The bomb's about to go off', definitely a bad thing. 'We're out of ice cream' – well, in a house of Slayers, that was practically an Apocalypse in its own right.

But for sheer, unspecified badness 'I think we may have a problem' probably topped the list. Especially, and this was probably just Xander, he'd never checked with anyone else, when it was said with an English accent. There was something about that accent and those words that made him worry. Too many Apocalypses averted working with Giles behind that fear, but it still made him worry.

"First things first, everyone who needs to hear what this problem is into the dining room. Kev, does that include our guests from the CBI?"

"Probably, yes."

"Right. Great. What about those three?" He nodded at the three young Slayers.

"Marissa should be there. Carla and Jess can be excused." Kevin was a lovely guy, Xander thought, but kinda stuffy for someone so young. It had to be something they put in Watcher-training food.

"We want to stay!"

"Carla, you know the drill. One more whine, and I'll be using you for sparring practice for the next month. Got it, kid?" It was amazing how fast both Carla and Jess disappeared when Faith spoke.

"Now, everyone into the dining room." Xander waited until everyone had sat down, and sighed. Lisbon and Van Pelt had been interrupted in their argument but clearly weren't done. Cho and Rigsby were both looking completely lost and bewildered. Marissa looked frankly terrified. Kevin and Dawn were already going into research-geek mode, judging by the number of books they were carrying between them. Jane and Faith looked like they were enjoying themselves, which Xander took as a bad sign. Sure, Faith was reformed and all, but she'd never exactly stopped being a trouble-maker and Patrick Jane looked exactly the same. Still, this was all he had. "Right, now I get that there's a lot going on that some people aren't going to understand. I will make sure it is all explained later. For now, shut up and listen. Kev, what's the problem?"

"Judging from the Slayer-dreams experienced by Marissa and the convergence of several key points in the Renfrew Cortex, combined with anomalies in the astrological projections, I'd say that we're potentially facing a significant threat to the very nature of causality."

Everyone blinked several times as they took in that speech. Then Xander said, "Translation, Dawn?"

"Bad stuff. Very bad stuff. Coming soon."

"Sounds like a movie tagline," Faith muttered. "Seriously, what's the sitch?"

"Now who's gone Kim Possible?" Dawn smirked. "Call me, beep me, if you wanna…"

"DAWN!" Faith and Xander yelled in unison then looked at each other and grinned.

"Fine. Basically, Marissa's been having dreams that suggest we're going to be facing a possible invasion from an alternate reality. A bad alternate reality, so the people in that reality are trying to come through to our reality and stay here."

"This is a bad thing, right? I'm hearing bad thing voice."

"Bad thing, Xander," Dawn confirmed. "If enough people come through from this other reality and stay for long enough, the causality and reality of this universe would be threatened as they collapsed into one."

"I think I speak for us all as I say, huh?"

"Did you do the required reading I left for you?"

"Yes, I read _Jingo_. I thought it was very funny. So what?"

"It's completely wrong, but an easy way of explaining this: the Trousers of Time. Every significant decision we make can result in an alternate reality where we chose the other option. So, for example, there's a universe where Quentin Travers decided to send another Watcher to Sunnydale and Buffy never met Giles."

"With you now. Bad thing."

"So who do I get to kill to stop it?" Faith, as ever, was less interested in the theory, more interested in getting down to business.

"It's not about the killing this time, Faith." Kevin took over the explanations again. "We have to find the weak point where these other people are going to try to come through and stop them there, by using magic to strengthen the boundaries between universes. With Dawn's help on research, I think I should be able to manage this."

"Interesting as this all is," Lisbon said, her voice showing her barely restrained anger, "what exactly does this have to do with us?"

"Ah, well, it is Marissa's dream that has brought this to our attention. And I assumed that, um, since you already knew Dawn and Xander, that you would be interested and um, keen to help." Kevin trailed off under Lisbon's icy glare. "Or not."

"I'm not leaving Marissa alone to deal with this," Van Pelt said firmly. "My cousin said she was in grave danger and I'm not leaving her alone."

"I'm just interested why you're taking the dream of a twelve year old, and Marissa, I'm not insulting you here, so seriously. Or are dreams prophetic now?" Jane smiled brightly.

"Slayer dreams are," Dawn said with a shrug. "Or they can be. Anyway, it's usually a good idea to be prepared."

"Fair enough." He leaned back in his chair. "Can we do anything to help?"

"Jane! We are not staying here! We are going back to CBI Headquarters and then, Van Pelt, you are going to be in so much trouble that…"

"I told you, I'm not leaving Marissa." Van Pelt cut Lisbon off mid-rant. "I'm sorry, boss, I really am, but I can't leave my twelve year old cousin to face a, a, a collapse of universal causality."

"You are coming back with me!"

"You wouldn't leave a member of your family on their own! Don't ask me to leave mine!"

"Fine." Lisbon's temper disappeared suddenly and she was back to icy control. "We'll stay. We'll even help. But then you are coming back to Sacramento with us, Van Pelt, and then you are going before a disciplinary board."

"Fine!" Van Pelt flung back.

Cho was still looking completely blank. "Boss? What the hell is going on?"


	6. Chapter 6

Rigsby spotted Van Pelt going for a walk with Marissa and hurried to catch up. The little girl – Slayer, he reminded himself – did look like a miniature Grace, with the same red hair, the same eyes and the same smile. Not that the girl had been smiling much, except at Jane, who had decided to entertain the younger Slayers with magic tricks while Cho and Rigsby had the speech about the origins of the world.

It had been a shock, to say the least, and Rigsby hadn't believed a word of it until one of the girls, looking no older than thirteen, had tied a crowbar in a knot, right in front of his eyes. And then Faith had untied it. Cho was still inside, trying to be logical about the whole thing and asking hundreds of questions. Apparently Kevin was thrilled to find someone interested in the theory of demonology.

Rigsby didn't care about any of that. He cared about the fact that Grace was throwing away her career to save her cousin when, as far as he could see, the cousin was far more likely to be saving all of them. He cared that she was going to ruin her life. He cared that he might never see her again. And until he sorted out this mess, so that Grace could come back to work and he could still see her every day, he didn't have the energy to care about any of the weird stuff.

Van Pelt noticed and waited for him to catch up. She smiled at him awkwardly and they both stood there, silent and embarrassed, until Marissa rolled her eyes. "I'm going to go see if there's any donuts left. You two, talk or something."

They were still silent when she left. "So, vampires, huh?" Rigsby managed, and got a smile out of Grace.

"I hate to crow, but I told Jane all of this stuff was real." They both started to laugh at the same moment. Grace's laughter died away. "I really screwed up, didn't I?"

"Lisbon's mad because she was worried about you. We all were." Rigsby frowned. "Why didn't you just call someone?"

"And say what? My cousin is a twelve year old, destiny chosen superhero and I'm nervous about leaving her in a house filled with other superheroes? That we didn't want to tell her parents the full truth, as they trust me to make the right decision for Marissa? You guys would have laughed me out of the agency and Lisbon would never have given me an extension on my leave. At least," she added with a frown, "she wouldn't have if she didn't already know about Slayers."

"Well, you could have just lied," he pointed out logically.

"She always knows when I lie. She's like Jane like that."

"Grace!" Exasperated, he caught hold of her shoulders. "You could have told me and I'd have covered for you. I'd have lied for you," he repeated quietly.

"Oh, Wayne," she said with a sigh. "I know. I'm sorry. I am so sorry."

He realised he was still holding on to her shoulders and dropped his hands, shoving them into his pockets instead, to stop himself reaching out and touching her again. "So, I guess we're all staying then. To fight a possible breakdown in reality."

"Yeah." She blushed. "Thanks."

He gave a one-shouldered shrug, as causal as he could make it. "We're a team. That's what teams do."

"I'd better go see if Marissa is OK."

"Yeah." He watched her walk back to the house before hitting himself on the forehead. "Idiot! Idiot! Oh, 'I'd lie for you, Grace'! Idiot! Just tell her 'I'd do anything for you'. Idiot!"

* * *

Faith knew research was never going to be her strong suit. She knew where her talents lay – fighting and killing. She left Dawn and Kevin to marshal the troops and get the younger Slayers to help out with the research, while she headed out to the large and airy gym, to work out some of her excess energy. She was going through a sequence of _tai chi _when she realised there was someone else in the gym with her. Patrick Jane was watching her with fascination.

Unable to resist, she stretched a little and slid into a perfect horizontal split, then straightened up, taking great care to be as obviously flirty as she could. When that appeared to have little effect, she walked over to him and leaned forward, giving him a direct view of her breasts. He smiled a little wider.

"Married," he pointed out, holding up his left hand to show the gold ring he always wore. "You're very beautiful, as you are well aware, but I'm taken."

"Fair enough," she allowed, grinning at the compliment. "Your wife must be pretty secure, to let you go tripping round the country with those two pretty agents."

The smile faltered and died and Faith wondered what she'd said wrong. "I hope she knows I love her," he said very softly. Then he cleared his throat and his smile came back. "You're the senior Slayer here, right? I've already met Buffy."

"B? Oh yeah, when Robin died. I guess that makes me senior here, when she's not about. Why? You wish she was here to save the day?" It came out a little bitterer than she had intended, but Faith didn't really care. She and Buffy had made their peace. It was only other people's reactions towards the world's oldest Slayer that really got to her now.

He only looked at her for a long moment. "It must be difficult. Always being second to Buffy. Always knowing you're just as good, but that people will still look to her first. And working with Xander can't be easy. He had a crush on Buffy when they were younger, probably still idolises her."

"How'd you know all that?" Defensive suddenly, Faith backed away, before reminding herself that she could break him in half without trying. She didn't need to back down to anyone.

He shrugged. "I pay attention. And no, I don't wish Buffy was here. I'm sure you can cope with whatever a breakdown in reality actually means. I'm just intrigued."

"By what?"

"Everyone treated Buffy like a general, following her lead on everything. That's easily explained. She's a natural leader; so are you. I just want to know why they treat you like an unexploded bomb."

"They still do, don't they?"

"What did you do? Something really bad, or just a little naughty?"

"Oh, I was bad. I was badder than you could ever imagine." She smiled wickedly at him. "But I don't think I should be the only one dishing out the secrets here. Show me yours and I'll show you mine."

"Show and tell later, Jane," Lisbon called out. "Xander wants a word with us."


	7. Chapter 7

It was not a happy group that gathered in the dining room. Lisbon and Van Pelt were noticeably not talking to each other, while Marissa looked near tears at the trouble she had caused for her cousin. Since Faith and Jane seemed to be getting on a little too well, Dawn was feeling left out. Xander made a mental note to have a word with the consultant about how to deal with crushes, if he didn't already know.

As one of only two men who lived in the house, Xander had to deal with his fair share of being crushed on. Actually, he had to deal with more than his fair share. Kevin, all round good guy that he was, wasn't really crushable material. A little short and tubby, he tended to become lecturing and uptight around the Slayers, despite being more relaxed after a beer or two. As a result, Xander was the most crushed on man in Cleveland.

He shook his head. Unhappy campers or not, this was all he had to work with. He'd left a message for Giles, explaining the situation, but basically, they were on their own. "So here's what the plan is," he started. "Kev, Dawn, Faith and I are going to go to the Hellmouth and deal with this causality thingy. Kev and Dawn will handle the magic stuff, Faith and I will keep watch. Everyone with me so far?"

"That means I'm in charge, right?" Rachel, a tall, pretty blonde who was the eldest of the girls who had stayed over the holidays, spoke up. "I'm senior Slayer when Faith's not here, right?"

"Technically, I was called before you," Ayako replied. The Japanese girl was as short as Buffy, but packed just as powerful a punch. "Just because you're older doesn't mean you're senior."

"Does too!"

"Does not!"

"Neither of you is in charge!" Xander said loudly and was rewarded as the two Slayers instantly turned on him instead. "I don't want to hear it! Neither of you is in charge. We've got five responsible adults here, and they are in charge."

"I'm not sure I'd describe Jane as a responsible adult," Lisbon commented dryly. "So we're your babysitters?"

"Trust me, Slayer-sitting is not an easy job." Xander grinned at Faith, who winked back. "All I need you guys to do is stay here, make sure no one dies, and keep the girls out of trouble until we get back. We'll be four, maybe five hours, tops. Easy."

It struck Jane as odd that both Dawn and Faith flinched as Xander decreed that it would be 'easy'. He grinned; they'd clearly been on the end of too many Murphy's law situations – anything that could go wrong, would go wrong. "I'm sure we'll manage. Can we order in pizza?" Food had always worked when he needed to bribe his daughter to behave – judging by the way the donuts had vanished earlier, it was probably a safe bet here too.

"Oh, and ice cream!" Ayako was instantly pacified at the thought of take out.

Xander knew when to admit defeat. After all, the CBI were doing him a favour. "Fine. You can even order on our account. However," he added at the excited expressions on Rachel and Ayako's faces, "I am only giving the account information to Teresa Lisbon and she will be under orders to not let you anywhere near that information. Are we clear?"

"Fine."

"And you'll do what these nice police officers tell you to?"

"Yes," they chorused sulkily.

"Thank God. Guys, I do appreciate you helping out."

"It's just six kids," Rigsby said with a shrug. "What could possibly be that difficult?" Xander sighed – if that wasn't the kiss of death, he was an elf lord.

* * *

Faith and Xander loaded up on weapons. Sure, they were just there to keep an eye on Kevin and Dawn, but it never hurt to be prepared. So, stakes, swords and Xander's favourite crossbow were all packed.

"What do think of our CBI pals? Blondie is seriously cute, but the others are more than a little stressy, huh?" Faith grinned at him. "I bet you like pretty Agent Lisbon."

"Well, she's no demon, so it's a step up for me." He laughed. "They'll be fine. And don't even think about Jane that way."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Dawnie saw him first. I get it. And he's married. Why are the good ones always married or gay? Or both," she added as an afterthought.

"Faith, his wife and daughter were murdered five years ago by a serial killer," Xander said quietly, just in case any teenage Slayers were listening. "I don't think he's going to be interested in anyone for a long, long time."

Faith looked stunned, colour draining from her face. "Shit. Shit, shit, shit. I can't believe I said that!"

"Said what?"

"Nothing. Nothing. Just leave it." And then she was gone, leaving Xander to worry over yet another small drama.

* * *

From outside the house, two hulking shapes watched as Kevin drove the battered SUV away from the school, heading towards the Hellmouth. Then they turned back to the school.

"Defenceless now."

"Yes. The Dark Slayer and the One who Sees have gone. We can take our time."

"Gather our allies. It is time."

"I always wanted Slayer for dinner," the second said inconsequentially as he turned to walk back to the city. "I wonder what they taste like?"

"Victory. They taste of victory."

"Huh. Is that salty or sweet?"


	8. Chapter 8

Patrick Jane did wonder exactly how they had ended up babysitting six teenagers in Cleveland, while still officially on CBI time and getting paid for it. Despite the weirdness of the situation, he found he was enjoying himself immensely. OK, so Lisbon and Van Pelt were sitting in opposite corners of the main living room, pointedly ignoring each other. OK, so Cho and Rigsby were staying quiet out of their self-preservation instincts, given that Rachel and Ayako had both started eyeing them appreciatively once Xander left the house. OK, so the world might end. But still, here and now, Patrick Jane was enjoying himself.

He studied the six Slayers. Each so very different, in looks and temperament, yet he could see the power contained in them. Something very like Buffy and Faith, although not quite as confident and developed. Rachel tried her hardest to have Faith's attitude, but the blonde was just a little too happy to really pull off that mean and moody thing that Faith managed so effortlessly. Rachel was keen to prove herself; as the oldest Slayer currently in the house, he supposed she felt pressure to be the leader.

Ayako, though, clearly felt little such pressure and, as a result, was infinitely calmer and more self-contained. Probably a better leader as well, Jane mused. She exuded a calm confidence that she could deal with anything thrown at her. She must have been about fifteen, but was only just taller than twelve year old Marissa. That apart, it had been Ayako who had tied a crowbar into a knot to demonstrate Slayerness to Rigsby and Cho earlier and it was Ayako who was keeping the younger Slayers occupied with a game of cards.

Carla, Jess and Lola were all thirteen and were clearly close to each other. Jane would place a great deal of money that Carla would have an impressive Latina temper to go with those dark ringlets, while Lola seemed to be so laid back she was in danger of falling asleep. Jess was somewhere between the two; alternately calming Carla down and winding Lola up. Carla and Jess showed signs of anxiety about where the others had gone, judging by the amount of times they kept checking the clock, and Lola may have been equally worried. She didn't show it if she was, not even to Patrick's practiced eye. Still, he mused, probably a good thing that Ayako was keeping them occupied.

Marissa, the youngest girl by about six months, was sitting very close to Grace, obviously keen to join in with the others, but held back by shyness. Jane sighed. He was getting bored. What could he do that would be interesting?

When Lisbon walked back in after ordering ten pizzas and five tubs of ice cream, it was to the sight of Jane teaching Carla, Jess and Rachel how to juggle. So far, Carla was managing three tennis balls, Rachel had four going, while Jess was on an impressive five. Jane was currently juggling seven tennis balls and two books.

"See, it's easy," he told the girls, seeming to barely look at the objects currently flying around his head. "It's all about concentration."

"If you drop those books, Kevin's going to throw a fit," Ayako said absently, not looking up from her own reading that she had moved on to when Jane broke out the juggling lesson.

"I'm not going to drop them." It was the utter confidence in his voice that always got to Lisbon. Just once, she'd like to see him really mess up. Preferably in a non-life threatening way, of course.

"Pizza's on the way," she announced. Tennis balls were dropped as the three Slayers forgot about juggling and concentrated on the thought of dinner.

"Jess, Lola, it's your turn to lay the table," Rachel ordered. "Carla, you can clear up all these balls."

"You're not in charge! Mr Jane is," Carla pointed out smugly. Lisbon wondered when it had gone from the five of them to just Jane in charge. "Mr Jane, we don't have to, do we?"

"Nope."

"Yay!"

"You can always explain to Xander when he gets back why we all ate off the floor and got pizza everywhere." There was a worried silence before all three girls moved to their tasks. "Carla? Catch." With pin-point accuracy, Jane changed the rotation of the objects he was still juggling and threw seven balls at Carla, who caught them all, before catching the books himself. "Ta da!"

Lisbon clapped sarcastically. This looked like being a long evening.  


* * *

  
The Cleveland Hellmouth was just as attractive as the Sunnydale one, Xander thought gloomily. Except at least the Sunnydale one was easier to get to. Cleveland's Hellmouth was in the middle of a park, under a pile of rocks that the rest of the world assumed was there to look decorative. Only the lucky few, he thought bitterly, realised that if you held your breath, you could fit through the gaps and find the surprisingly large cave that led to the Hellmouth. And, he swore privately, if Andrew ever mentioned that it was like the TARDIS again, he was going to kill him. Thank God Andrew was usually in London.

They just squeezed through into the cave and waited as Kevin broke out the books. "It'll be easier to start the ritual here, and finish it at the Hellmouth," he explained.

"Five by five," Faith commented with a grin. "Whatever works, brainiac, just get on with it. I'm not gettin' any younger here."

"Patience is a virtue," the Watcher replied.

"So is chastity, but I don't hear you preaching that one." Kevin blushed bright red at Faith's statement, coupled as it was with a highly suggestive leer.

"Can we get on with this? Patrick said he was going to give me an advanced course in hypnosis when we get back." Dawn was already marking out the pentagram that would form the first step of the ritual.

"Just hypnosis?"

"Oh shut up, Faith."

* * *

"Did you hear something?" Rachel looked up from the tub of cookie dough ice cream that she was sharing with Marissa and Rigsby. "Did anyone else hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"Just … something. It sounded wrong. Like someone trying to be too quiet."

Jane went to reassure the girls that it was probably nothing, just the wind, when he saw that all five Slayers were looking attentive and wary. Ayako stood up, taking charge. "Rach, you go peek out of the window, see if you can see anything. Carla, Lola, weapons please. Jess, explain the basics of stake-age to our guests. I'll check the back."

The girls disappeared silently and Lisbon looked around. "I thought we were in charge?"

"You are," Jess said, returning with a couple of what Jane could only assume were stakes. Short, pointed bits of wood. "But only if everything's OK. If there's any trouble, of the Slay sort, you really think you should be in charge? Ayako's the most experienced; makes sense for her to take over. Everyone know where the heart is on a body?" They nodded warily. "Great. How to stake a vampire, lesson one: stake goes into heart, vampire goes poof. Here endeth the lesson. Any questions?"

"Does the stake go poof too?" Marissa asked quietly.

"Only if you let it go. Hang on to it. Lesson number two; never let go of your weapon unless your name is Buffy or Faith."

The other girls reappeared, carrying a large bag filled with wooden stakes. Ayako and Rachel also snagged a wickedly sharp long sword each, for insurance. "There's two things heading towards the front door," Rachel reported, idly swinging her blade. "Big things too. Not quite sure what they are."

"There's at least another ten or so around the back. Looked like vamps to me," Ayako said. "Wonder what their plan is?" She shook her head. "Guys, if it goes badly, make for the basement. There's a reinforced steel door down there that should hold anything off for a while."

"Hang on," Cho interrupted, "I thought vampires couldn't come into a house unless they were invited." At his team's accusing looks, he shrugged. "What? Jane's not the only one who pays attention."

"He's right, they need an invitation."

"Never stopped them trying before," Rachel reminded her friend.

A crash at the front door drew their attention. Something very big and very hairy stood outlined in the doorway, the door now wood chippings at its feet. As Ayako and Lisbon peered around the door, it roared loudly.

"Oops. I think it saw us."


	9. Chapter 9

At that point, several things happened at once. Two other creatures burst through the window into the living room, showering Rigsby and Marissa with glass, Rachel reacted with lightning reflexes and impaled one of them with the poker from the fireplace, Lisbon yelled "Run!" and the room emptied as the group made for the basement. And far away, near the Cleveland Hellmouth, Xander's cell phone rang.

"Giles? Hey, we're a bit busy at the moment."

"Xander, I wanted to ask what on earth you were talking about. The Renfrew Codex?"

"Kev said it was some big bad thing about reality and stuff. Surely you've heard of it?" Xander grinned. "Surely we're not ahead of you on this one?"

"Xander, you're about three days behind."

"What!"

"The Renfrew Codex did indeed point to a possible tear in the nature of causality but Willow and I were able to pinpoint the location that this was going to occur. It was Prague. Last Tuesday."

Xander was quiet for a moment. Then he said in an overly bright tone, "Can you explain that to Kevin? I don't think he'll believe me." After the Watcher had turned pale, stammered several excuses and finally hung up, Xander continued in that too-cheerful tone, "So, Kev, want to explain why we're at the Hellmouth while our girls are at home alone, with only a few police officers for company?"

"I may have made a tiny error in my calculations…."

"So there isn't going to be an irreparable breakdown in reality?" Dawn sounded almost disappointed. "Huh. I wanted to see what an alternate dimension looked like."

"Happens to the best of us," Faith said, slapping Kevin on the shoulder in what was meant to be a comforting gesture. Being Faith, it sent the Watcher halfway across the cave. "Well, not to me, obviously, but I hear everyone else makes mistakes."

"Let's just get home, shall we?" Xander led them wearily out of the cave. The group followed him wearily only to grind to a halt as Kevin stopped abruptly.

"Oh dear. Oh no."

"What?" Xander had gone very tense.

"Um, if it's not the Renfrew Codex, then there's only one thing that Marissa's dreams could mean. And it's not good. Not good at all."

"Don't keep us in suspense," Faith growled. "What's happening?"

"It never used to happen much, because there was only one Slayer at a time, but now… I think something or someone is going to try the Ritual of Saint Pelagius. It can only be used on a new Slayer, someone only just called."

"Someone like Marissa."

"Exactly, Xander. And once the Ritual is started, only Marissa will be able to stop them. Um, it also overrides the need for vampires to have an invitation. It's very strong, very dark magic."

"So some vamps are going to try and feed on the baby Slayers? My baby Slayers? Oh, _hell_, no." Faith took off at a dead sprint, running the way that only a Slayer, and a pissed off one at that, could. Xander squinted after her. At that speed, she'd be back at the School in fifteen minutes. The rest of them would have to hope traffic was clear just to keep up.

* * *

Back at the School, things were getting interesting. Rachel, Lola, Jess and Rigsby were leaning against the steel door, holding it closed against the pounding of several somethings. Every time, the door would shake in its frame, but it was holding firm for the most part.

"We have to do something," Ayako said again. "We should fight."

"We stay here, and we stay safe," Jane countered. There was no way he was going to watch these kids die. "There's no point in going out there."

"We're Slayers! Of course there's a point!"

"You're outnumbered." Jane glared at the young girl, who matched him glare for glare.

"We're Slayers," she repeated. "We're always outnumbered."

Jane sighed. "Let's think about this logically; we don't know how to kill the big things, we don't know how the vampires got into the house, given they're meant to need an invitation, and only you five know what you're doing."

"Six," Marissa said quietly. "I know what I'm doing."

"You are not going out there," Van Pelt said firmly.

Lisbon had been studying the floor. "She has to, doesn't she?" she asked Ayako, who nodded. "You all do. Fine. But you're not going without a plan."

"Lisbon, I don't give a damn about mystical destiny and crap like that! They are children!" Jane shot a sad look over a Rachel and Lisbon knew that he was seeing what his little girl could have grown up into. "They're children."

"I know. This is hard for me too," she said firmly and got a look that suggested she had no idea how hard this was.

"Ayako, let's just go, shall we?" Rachel rolled her eyes. "We're the senior Slayers here, it's our responsibility."

"You got it," the Japanese nodded. "Stake the vamps, slice and dice the others and hold the fort until Faith gets back. Sound like a plan to you?"

"Sounds about right." Rachel grinned and Jane wanted to weep for the bravado in both girls' voices. They were scared and worried and absolutely determined not to let the others know. If that wasn't courage, he didn't know what was.

Ayako faced the rest of the group with a carefree smile. "Carla, Jess, Lola, you three hold the door. Marissa, help out if you can. The rest of you, just leave it to the Slayers. We wouldn't tell you how to investigate, so leave this to us." She picked up a stake and sheathed a sword across her back. "Let's do this."


	10. Chapter 10

Rachel might have put on a brave face for the cops, but she was shaking inside. They were heavily outnumbered and something was seriously wrong if vamps could get inside without an invite. There was nothing for it, though. She was a Slayer and this is what Slayers did. So she squared her shoulders, gripped her stake firmly and gave a final nod to Ayako. Then she nodded to Rigsby, pale and unusually silent for the big man, who swung the door open.

Rachel darted through the slim opening and staked the first vamp, still gaping with surprise at their sudden appearance. Before he'd even exploded into dust, she was moving forward, focusing on the next attack. Behind her, she dimly heard the sounds of Ayako claiming a vamp and the steel door swinging shut behind them. She couldn't see the big, hairy things, but there were plenty of vamps to focus on for now.

One vamp came at her from the side, fist swinging and she parried the blow without thinking, before sweeping one leg around to bring the vamp down. One clean blow with her stake and he was dust. Rachel moved on. Two more came at her, and she found herself grinning wildly, suddenly enjoying herself. It wasn't often that she was allowed to just let rip. Whenever they patrolled, she usually had a younger girl with her, who needed watching out for, or Xander, who insisted that she be careful. Now there was no one to hold her back. Ayako could take care of herself, leaving Rachel to enjoy the sheer power of being the Slayer.

Moving with a grace and confidence she hadn't known she possessed, Rachel fought as she had never fought before. Punch, block, punch again, _stake_, and move on. She took out one vamp by throwing a metal plate like a Frisbee, decapitating him cleanly and started to laugh. This was fun! How had she never really known this before? She was the Slayer and this was what she had been born for.

"Come and get me, assholes!" she yelled, still laughing. Then she froze, horror stopping the laughter instantly. Ayako lay sprawled on the floor at the feet of a couple of vamps, blood on the side of her face and her arm bent at a horrible angle. She was still conscious, only just, but she managed a sickly smile.

"Get the bastards for me," she whispered.

One of the vampires stamped down cruelly on her wounded shoulder and she screamed, high and agonised. Rachel couldn't breathe. Ayako had always beaten her whenever they sparred together. It couldn't happen that she would get hurt and Rachel would be fine. It just couldn't. She stepped forward cautiously and became aware of more vamps at her back. Looking around, she swallowed hard. There were seven of them in the room that she could see, more than she had ever taken on, even with help. And she had to save Ayako. The first rule of Slaying might be Don't Die, but Rachel's personal rules amended it: Don't Die and Don't let your partner die.

She needed a plan. Who was she kidding? She needed Faith.

* * *

Arguments were still raging in the basement. Lisbon was listening to Jane harangue her about her decision to let Rachel and Ayako go, while Carla argued that they should all have gone. Van Pelt was arguing with Marissa, refusing to let her help out. Rigsby was still leaning on the door, despite the fact that the attempts to get through it had apparently stopped, while Cho was checking and rechecking his gun. Bullets might not kill a vampire, but the reassuring weight of the Glock in his hands did more to steady his nerves than anything else.

Jane finally ran out of words and Lisbon took a breath. "People, we need to do something. We cannot just sit here and hope Xander and Faith arrive to save the day. Any ideas?"

"Maybe I wasn't listening earlier, but what exactly kills a vampire?" Rigsby looked embarrassed at the admission.

"Stake to the heart, decapitation, fire, sunlight and Holy Water," Jess reeled off automatically.

"Do you have any Holy Water in the house?" Jane's voice came from far away, as though he'd just had one of his brilliant, off the wall ideas. She nodded and he grinned. "And this is a house filled with kids usually, right?" Another nod. "Jess, I need a word. I think I might have an idea."

While the two of them whispered quietly in a corner, Lisbon marshalled the rest of the troops. "We're no use to anyone just waiting around in here. I say we get the hell out of this house and go for backup. Carla, Lola, can you two help me fight our way clear?" The two girls, suddenly looking much older than thirteen, nodded solemnly. "Jess, you help Jane with whatever he's thought up. Cho, Rigsby, bullets won't kill a vampire, but they will slow them down, right?" Carla nodded in agreement. "Right. So, aim for the head and keep moving. Van Pelt, you take care of Marissa. We're aiming for the kitchen, as that has a back door. Everybody know what they're doing?"

"We're heading upstairs quickly," Jess said, a wide grin indicating that she approved of Jane's idea. Whatever it was. Lisbon decided she didn't want to know. "You find Rachel and Ayako."

* * *

Rachel continued to edge closer to the vamps holding Ayako. She had to save her friend. She just had to. The vamps at her back were getting closer, she knew by the way the skin on the back of her neck prickled, but she ignored them for the moment. The important thing was Ayako.

"What you gonna do, little girl? Save yourself or your friend?"

She ignored the taunting and continued to desperately come up with a plan. Movement from the direction of the basement caught her eye but she deliberately didn't look. She couldn't let the vampires attack the cops and the younger Slayers. This was her responsibility.

They noticed anyway, of course. Carla came running through, firing a crossbow more as a distraction than with any attempt at accuracy, though she still pinned one vampire by his arm to a wall. The resulting surge to capture more people gave Rachel time to leap forward, kick one vampire so hard she heard bones snap, stake another and swing Ayako up over her shoulder and sprint after the others.

They made it to the kitchen, barricading the door behind them, before Rachel realised that Jess and Mr Jane were missing. "Where the hell is Jess?" she panted, laying Ayako carefully down on the kitchen table. She hadn't been able to be too careful with the injured girl on her mad dash for safety and Ayako was unconscious, blood still flowing from the head wound.

"What happened to Ayako?" Van Pelt asked, horror in her eyes as she faced the reality of Marissa's new life.

"Vampires. Now where's Jess?"

A deep chuckle came from the shadows of the kitchen and two big, shambling, hairy creatures moved into view. "Don't worry about your friend. You got bigger problems now."


	11. Chapter 11

Faith ran. Blood pounding through her veins, her legs eating up the miles at a speed she would have normally enjoyed. Now, she didn't enjoy it. Now, she was fighting mad that some jerk was attacking _her_ girls, breaking into _her_ home and she was sick of people doing that already. When she got back to the School, Faith was going to show these bad guys a new level of violence. No one was going near her girls ever again.

And that level of protective anger that had surged through her, and was still powering her onwards, was slightly worrying. When had Faith ever been the sort to get all protective? But she didn't have time to worry about that yet. She had to find the bad guys and pound them into the dust until everyone agreed not to go near her girls ever again.

She slowed slightly as she reached the School, not wanting to run headlong into a bad situation and make it worse. See Giles, she thought wryly, look at me thinking. What she saw made her swallow. The front door had been ripped off its hinges and crumpled into sawdust, while the big front windows were shattered. She could smell the metallic tinge of blood in the air, so someone had been hurt. How badly, she couldn't tell.

Stepping carefully through the door, she came face to face with Patrick Jane and Jess, tiptoeing down the stairs, clutching what looked like water pistols. Jess looked excited, while Jane was clearly scared almost out of his mind. He was hanging in there though, and his smile lit up the stairway when he saw her. Well, at least someone was pleased to see her.

"Where's everyone and what's going on?" She didn't have time to mess about right now. "Why have you got water pistols?"

"Everyone ran for the kitchen," Jess answered quickly, reading her urgency. "There's about twenty vamps that came through the windows. We don't know how they did that."

"I do. Not a big deal at the moment. What else?"

"Two big thingies as well, but I don't know where they are. Mr Jane had this great idea about the water pistols." She handed one to Faith. They were the big, brightly coloured Super Soakers that had launched a water war in the hot summer. "We filled them with Holy Water."

Faith arched an eyebrow and didn't bother to hide her grin. "Sweet. Let's go deal with the vamps and we'll worry about the other uglies later."  


* * *

  
Lisbon had never had the phrase 'out of the frying pan and into the fire' quite so accurately illustrated before. There weren't any more vampires in the kitchen but….The two big demons that had appeared were huge, towering things, at least seven feet tall. They were covered in dark, shiny hair, looking almost like a dark, ugly version of the blue and purple spotted monster from _Monsters Inc_. That monster hadn't wicked looking claws on each hand though, nor the big, sharp teeth that were currently bared in a mockery of a smile.

Nor, if she remembered correctly, had any monster in that movie threatened to eat anyone.

"One little girl, and we let the rest of you go," one of the monsters said, his voice surprisingly cultured.

Rachel stood at the front of the group, between them and the monsters and Lisbon had to admire her courage. Clearly tired and worried about Ayako, Rachel stood tall and proud, not letting any emotion except contempt into her voice. "And as I said before, no deal."

Carla and Lola had Marissa behind them and were edging back towards the main house. Vampires could be handled. Whatever these things were, it might not be so easy.

"You can't hide her from us. The Ritual of Saint Pelagius will be completed!"

"The Ritual of what?" Rachel snorted softly, intent on giving the others time to sneak away. "I swear, you lot just make these things up. Ritual of this, Night of whatever. I tell you, I've had just enough of this mystic voodoo crap. You're bad guys, you want to eat a twelve year old, and I'm going to stop you. Enough with the Ritual stuff." As she spoke, she leapt forward, bringing her sword down in a glittering arc.

Lisbon held her breath. If the blow connected, one of the monsters would be cloven in two. The sword stopped half an inch from the monster's hide and bounced off, making Rachel cry out as her arm was wrenched away.

"The magic of the ritual protects us, stupid girl." The monster shoved the stunned Slayer hard into the wall, her head making an ominous crack as it connected with the brickwork. Rachel slumped unconscious to the ground and Lisbon found her voice.

"Run! Back the way we came! Rigsby, try and get to Rachel! Cho, get Ayako!" She pushed her way through, opening the kitchen door, intent on being the first to attack the vampires and stopped dead.

Standing shoulder to shoulder, Jane, Faith and Jess were firing water pistols at the remaining ten vampires and the vampires were screaming, begging and trying to run away. Smoking violently, the vampires seemed to be melting before her eyes. She chanced a glance at Jane and was shocked to see him looking grim and bleak as he sprayed the vampires with whatever was making them die. There was no emotion in his face, no spark in his eyes and she knew he would look exactly like this when and if he killed Red John.

Faith showed no lack of emotion though. Laughing loudly, she looked almost wild as she fired on the vampires. As the final vampire collapsed into a pile of dust, she was already moving towards them. "Where are the big guys?"

"Back there." Lisbon moved out of her way, knowing there was no power on Earth that could stop Faith in this mood. "But there's some sort of magic that means weapons don't touch them."

"I know." Faith moved through the crowd of Slayers and CBI, grabbing hold of Marissa's hand. "You're coming with me."

"Marissa!" Lisbon heard Van Pelt's cry and caught the younger agent's arm.

"You're going to need to trust Faith, I think," she told her firmly. "She knows what she's doing." If she's anything like Buffy, anyway, Lisbon thought, hoping she was right.


	12. Chapter 12

Jane was shocked at how easy it had been to kill the vampires. There had been no regrets, no hesitation, just a dull wish that they had thought of this sooner. Then he saw Ayako cradled in Cho's arms and saw that Rachel was missing and felt sick at the thought of those two brave girls hurt, maybe dead, because he had been too stupid to think of this earlier. In his current state on disconnected shock, it came as no surprise when Xander, Dawn and the other Watcher ran into the house.

"Where's Faith?" Xander grabbed his shoulder. Jane just stared at him for a long moment and then pointed into the kitchen. Xander took off after the others, leaving Dawn to take Jane's hand and led him on.

"Come on. You'll want to see this, whatever happens."

He shook his head and wanted to tell her that he didn't want to see anyone else get hurt. That he never wanted to see another dead body for as long as he lived. He couldn't find the words however, so he just followed meekly.

He saw the two, big hairy monsters in the kitchen, looking smug from what he could make out of their facial expressions. Marissa and Faith stood near them, Marissa's arm held tightly by Faith, the older Slayer whispering some last minute instructions. Grace was crying, being held back by Lisbon and Cho, while the younger Slayers stood between the monsters and the CBI agents.

"You want her, right?" Faith's voice rang with confidence.

"Yes." If they were nervous now that Faith had shown up with reinforcements, they didn't show it. "The newborn Slayer."

"Then move out of the way so we can get to Rachel and I'll let you have at the baby Slayer." Faith had started to move towards the Rachel's prone body as she spoke and the monsters let her. She scooped up the girl's body and Jane fought a sob as he saw how small the girl was really.

"She'll be fine," Dawn whispered comfortingly. "She's not dead and she has Slayer healing. She'll be fine." He noticed she had her fingers crossed though.

"All right," Marissa said, her voice quavering with fear. "Well, you wanted me. You got me."

"Marissa! No!"

The monsters ignored Van Pelt's howl of despair as they moved greedily forward. Marissa looked absolutely tiny next to their bulk and she was shaking with terror. Then Faith's voice rang out, "Here ya go, kid! Take it out on the bastards!" She tossed Rachel's discarded sword high in the air, and every eye in the room turned to follow its silvery, spinning path.

Even the monsters turned to watch, which was why they missed Marissa grab two long bladed kitchen knives and dart forward. They didn't see her until she thrust one into the stomach of the nearest demon before spinning to stab the other one in the throat. Pulling both knives free, she watched as the demon she had stabbed in the throat toppled over, while the other stared at her in total shock, one massive paw clutching at its stomach, trying to stem the flow of blood.

"One thing you forgot," Marissa taunted them, no fear now in her voice as she moved to pick up the sword. "I am a Slayer and you don't mess with us." She swung the blade with more ferocity than accuracy and it took a couple of swings, but she eventually decapitated the demon.

"And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how we deal with ugly beasties like that," Faith said with a wide grin. "Nice going, kiddo." Marissa glowed with pride at the praise.

"I think I'm going to be sick," Van Pelt murmured weakly.


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Bit of a long one, but I'm trying to not have a hundred and one conclusions. We're nearly at the end now, only two more chapters after this one to go.

* * *

Xander was going to have words with Giles at the end of this. He'd never heard of this Ritual of Saint Pelagius before, but it had been powerful enough to let vamps break into their house and injure two of his Slayers. If more people found out about this ritual, there could be more attacks. Slayers were being called all the time now, making them targets. Willow and her coven must be able to find a way of countering the magic of the Ritual, even if it just meant that vamps definitely couldn't get past the invitation-only protection of a house.

So, yes, Xander was planning a little chat with Giles. But that could wait until he'd made sure that Ayako's displaced shoulder was reset and her broken arm put in a cast. Until he knew that Rachel had just banged her head extra hard and hadn't broken anything. Until he'd reassured Carla and Jess and Lola that they'd all acted brilliantly and he was proud of them all. Until he'd spoken to Marissa and made sure she was all right. Until he spoke with Lisbon and her agents and checked that they were all OK, not freaking out unnecessarily and also not about to go blabbing about this to anyone else. And until he'd yelled a little at Kevin for not bringing up the possibility of this Ritual until the last minute. He wasn't going to yell much, but he needed someone to take his anger out on, and no one else sprung to mind.

Dawn was in Ayako's room, binding up the broken arm. Her shoulder had already been reset and, having had some painkillers, the girl was brightening up already. "Hey Xander," Ayako greeted him. "I hear Mr Jane used a water pistol on some vamps! Wish I could have seen that."

"I hear it was definitely memory-worthy," he agreed with a smile. "How you doing?"

"I'm OK." She shrugged with her uninjured shoulder. "Feel a bit stupid for getting hurt." She nibbled her lip. "How's Rach?"

"I'm just going to check."

Kevin was tending to Rachel, who didn't look too worse for wear. "She's going to have an almighty headache for a couple of days, but there's no skull fracture, no bleeding and no signs of anything serious."

"Thank God."

"Xander? I'm really sorry about screwing up. I'll understand if you want to send me back to England and Mr Giles." Kevin looked so down-hearted that Xander couldn't find it in him to be angry anymore.

"Nah, we all screw up sooner or later. Just remember, it never hurts to tell someone all the various things a prophecy or dream could mean. Just so we don't get caught out in future."

"Yes, sir," Kevin replied, gratefully. And now Xander needed to add reminding Kevin not to call him sir to the list of things to do.

As he thought that, Rachel's eyelids flickered and the girl groaned as she regained consciousness. "Ow."

"Rach?"

"Xander? What the hell happened?" Ah, the eternal first question of every Slayer, Xander thought with a small grin. He explained as simply as he could and she frowned. "OK, but why could Marissa kill them and my sword bounced, literally _bounced_, off the big uglies?"

"The Ritual of Saint Pelagius is always aimed at a newly called Slayer," Kevin said, taking over the explanation. "It's named after a medieval Spanish child saint, who is the patron saint of abandoned and tortured children." Xander coughed quietly and Kevin got back to his main point. "Once the Ritual has been invoked, only the target of the Ritual can stop it. So the big uglies, and for your information they are known as –"

"Not real interested, Kevin," Rachel said with a roll of her eyes that did more than all of Kevin's reassurances to tell Xander the girl would be fine. "So basically only Marissa could kill them and they weren't bluffing about the magic protecting them?"

"Basically," Kevin sighed.

"Huh."

"Well, what do you know, bad guys telling the truth? Next thing it'll be raining ice cream," Xander quipped, leaving the room to spread the good news that Rachel was awake and going to be fine. And then have words with Giles.

* * *

Marissa had shaken off Grace's hug almost immediately, leaving her distraught cousin to go and relive the battle with Carla, Jess and Lola. The four of them already looked like being close friends, which Grace knew she should be pleased about. At the moment, she was struggling to see an upside to any of this.

It was ironic, she knew, that the one agent on the team who believed in the supernatural seemed to be having the biggest problems accepting it, but that was how it was. Vampires and demons existed and her little cousin was doomed to spend the rest of her life fighting them. She hated it. She wished Jane had been right and that the occult was just a trap for the gullible and stupid. She fought a bitter laugh; the one time she really needed him to be right and he was totally wrong.

"Grace?"

She leapt in her seat as she saw Rigsby walk into the dining room, dashing a few threatening tears from her eyes as she did so. "Rigsby? Is everything OK? Is the boss looking for me?"

"No. Just me." He came a little closer, edging nearer her nervously. "Are you all right?"

"Fine."

"Really? Because I'm not." She jerked at that, turning to stare at him. He was pale and shaking slightly, now that she looked. "I'm really not. I thought I was, I thought I could just ignore all the weirdness, but I can't. And now I know it's there, I'll always be looking for it. Wondering whether this murder was done by a demon, or that one was a witch. This changes everything."

"I know." Her voice shook. "I'm not fine with it. I'm scared, Wayne. I'm so scared."

"Me too." He came to stand next to her, pulled her up to stand with him. "But the thing is, Grace, I think this changes everything. So I think that if there are vampires and demons and twelve year old superheroes, that a little thing like the rules shouldn't matter as much."

"What are you saying?" She was still holding his hand, she realised, but made no move to take it away.

He just smiled at her, nervous as hell but braver than her, and lowered his head to brush a light kiss over her lips. "I'm saying, to hell with the rules that say we can't have a relationship and be on the same team. I'm saying I love you, Grace Van Pelt."

She laughed softly, before tugging his head down into another kiss, this one deep and searing and everything she thought kissing Rigsby would be like, except more. She pressed herself firmly against his body, feeling his heart pound against her breastbone, not willing for there to be a single inch of air between them. "I love you too, Wayne. I could have lost you today and I was so scared of that."

"You're not going to lose me," he murmured, claiming another kiss as he did so. "I promise. This is for keeps."

Cho watched them kiss from just outside the dining room and nodded in satisfaction. About time, he thought dryly. About damn time. He wasn't about to tell the world though, not if they didn't want him to. He permitted himself a small smile. About time.

* * *

"Hey, hotshot."

Jane looked around as Faith sat down next to him. "Don't call me that."

"Why not? C'mon, that was a pretty cool idea about the water pistols! Fun too. We won," she reminded him, nudging him none too gently. "Good guys, yay, bad guys not so much. Cheer up."

"And Ayako and Rachel both got hurt."

"And they're both fine. Ayako's awake and calling for more ice cream. Rachel is sleeping, but should be up and about tomorrow. All good. Don't let it get to you."

He sighed and then smiled at her brightly, not even bothering to pretend it was genuine. "Keep calm and carry on, huh? That's the order of the day?"

"Pretty much. We don't have time for self-pity. I tried that; it didn't work. So stop worrying about things you can't change and get on with it. That's my motto," she shrugged. "Now, anyway."

He opened his mouth to tell her he wasn't self-pitying and closed it again. Whatever Faith had been through, he'd bet it was just as traumatic as walking into his house had been when Red John had visited. But she just got on with it. From the sounds of it, and from the way the others still treated her, at some point Faith had flipped out in spectacular style. But she'd clawed her way back to sanity. If she could, so could he.

"You might have a point."

"Hell, I got an armoury of pointy things. Even sometimes make sense to myself. So, you wanna go have celebration ice cream with everyone else, or you wanna sit and sulk some more?" Put like that, he didn't have much of a choice.


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: Huge apologies for the delay in posting this. I remembered to update my Twisting the Hellmouth account, and completely forgot to post the final two chapters here. Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.

* * *

Lisbon had called Minelli and arranged for the team to stay in Cleveland for a few more days without actually specifying why they had to stay. She was certain that he wouldn't agree if she'd admitted she wanted to help fix up the house, make sure that Rachel and Ayako really were OK, and thank Faith and the others for saving them.

And, though she wasn't about to admit it to anyone, she wanted to give Rigsby and Van Pelt a chance to get over the first flush of excitement over their relationship so that they stood a small chance of hiding it when they got back to Sacramento. They were currently both walking around in a haze of romance and happiness and she didn't have the heart to tell them that if they wanted to stay on her team, they had to act more professional once they got back to headquarters. For now, she'd just let them enjoy it.

Whatever Faith had said to Jane seemed to have cheered him up and he seemed back to his old, trouble-making self. It seemed a strange thing to admit, but she was actually glad when she walked in on him teaching Dawn hypnosis by teaching her how to hypnotise Rigsby. Jane even seemed to accept that young girls had to be Slayers too. Whether that was just the evidence of the other night, or he'd just thought it through some more, she wasn't sure but it was good news either way.

Cho seemed to be taking this, as he took everything, in his stride. Not a flicker of facial muscle let her know if he was bothered by vampires and magic and she thought it might actually be scarier if she could read his expression.

So her team seemed to be fine. That was good. Now, she just had to worry about the new nightmares this little adventure would mean. She was actually looking forward to getting back to work, to the usual arguments with Minelli over Jane's questionable methods, to disagreeing with the psychiatrist that Minelli was still making her see, to normal, everyday evil murderers. Any day without demons was going to be a day she appreciated now.

And that made her ashamed. Teresa Lisbon, one of the most highly regarded agents in the CBI, known for being fearless in the face of danger, was scared of this new world, and even more embarrassed by that fear. Xander Harris and his teenaged superheroes didn't seem bothered, but she was. Everything had been easier before she had met Buffy Summers. There was no going back now.

So she did what she always did. She got on with it. She helped Dawn cook a feast that would have fed five thousand as a celebration, both of the victory won and the fact that they had a new Slayer. She worked with Xander to arrange for glaziers to fix the windows and helped the younger Slayers clear up the chaos caused by the attack.

"Hey, Agent Lisbon." She looked around to find Rachel coming towards her. The blonde Slayer was still a little shaky and complained if music got too loud, but she was looking better every day. "We wondered where you'd got to."

"Why? What's Jane done this time?"

Rachel snickered. Since the incident, and whatever Faith had said to him, Jane had apparently decided to make it his mission to provide entertainment. This had included magic tricks, hypnosis and the ever-popular running commentary of insults when she was trying to be useful and help Xander fix the front door. Lisbon had come closer to smacking him several times. "It's not that. I just wanted a word."

"Sure. What can I do for you?"

"Um, well, I was wondering…" She trailed off and looked embarrassed. "Xander is always talking about the fact that Slayers can have a proper job now, if they want, and I wanted to ask you about maybe becoming a cop."

"You want to be a cop?"

"Um. Yes."

Lisbon paused for a second before answering. "Don't you save the world enough already?"

She shrugged. "The Slayer thing is just there. I want to do something else as well. And I thought, well, the way you took charge and dealt with everything the other night was just great and I thought that maybe I might be a cop. Just like you."

Lisbon just gaped at her. "You think I was good the other night? You and Ayako were the ones who saved the day! I was terrified the whole time!"

Again, Rachel just shrugged. "So was I. It's not about that, it's about dealing with things even though you're scared. Unless you think I couldn't do it."

"No, I think you'd do just fine," Lisbon said with a genuine smile. "Stick at the schoolwork, and give me a call. I'll arrange for you to come and spend a couple of days with us over your next school vacation, if you're still interested."

"That would be fantastic!" Rachel impulsively hugged Lisbon before beaming at her. "I can't wait to tell Xander!" Lisbon hid a smile; maybe she should have checked with Xander first, but Rachel's enthusiasm and praise had cheered her up. She couldn't have done too badly if a Slayer wanted to grow up to be just like her. 


	15. Chapter 15

Van Pelt was saying an emotional goodbye to Marissa, who had arranged to stay another week in Cleveland before going home to pack properly. Van Pelt had been emotional, anyway, Jane thought with a grin. Marissa had mainly looked embarrassed at such over the top affection, in the way that only a twelve year old could.

"Maybe we'll see each other again," Xander Harris said with a grin, holding out his hand for Jane to shake. "Maybe even without demons next time."

"That would make a change." Jane smiled brightly at the younger man. "Take care of those girls."

"I always do."

"I know." He sighed. "They shouldn't have to do what they do. But I can accept that there is no alternative. And they seem happy, I suppose. But they still shouldn't have to do this."

"I know." Xander paused. "And that's why I'm going to say this. You understand that they shouldn't do this, that we should try and make these girls' lives as normal as possible. You're smart, you pick things up quickly and you had an absolutely hilarious, genius idea with the water pistols. If you ever get bored at the CBI, let me know. We always need more Watchers."

Jane looked wistful. "When I'm done with the CBI, I'll de dead or in prison. I can't stop until I catch and kill Red John. And Lisbon said she'll put me away if I do that. But thank you for the offer. Another lifetime, I might have said yes."

"Just bear in mind you have options." They shook hands again. "Have a safe journey."

Xander waved off the CBI with a smile. He'd meant what he said to Jane – the man would be a good Watcher. If nothing else, he understood how to deal with teenage girls. Something Xander still struggled with. Obviously, he wouldn't be allowed to work near Dawn, who still appeared to be in the middle of a giant crush, but still… It was something to remember for the future.

"I meant it, X-man. I like Blondie. And the others, actually. For cops, they ain't half-bad," Faith said with a grin. "Especially now the big guy's banging the redhead. Everybody seems way more chilled since those two did the nasty."

"I know. How weird is it when the people in the relationship are less relieved about overcoming sexual tension than those watching? I mean watching in a non-literal sense, obviously. It's way weirder if they're actually watching those two get it on."

"Dunno about that," Faith said contemplatively. "They're a good looking pair. It might be entertaining."

"Faith!" And just like that, Xander thought with a relieved grin, everything went back to normal.

* * *

"So what exactly are we going to tell Minelli?" The five of them were hovering awkwardly outside the CBI Headquarters, not quite sure how to explain their absence.

"I'll do it," Jane volunteered.

"No. You'll only tell him something like we all ran off to join the circus and you had to rescue us from Russian acrobats or some equally ridiculous story." Lisbon sighed. "I'll talk to him."

"I would never have used the circus story, but it is a good one to bear in mind for the future. I was going to say that you were all abducted by aliens and that only through my own special brand of brilliance were we all able to return to Earth, safe and completely unharmed." At Lisbon's glare, he caved in. "All right, I was going to hypnotise into thinking that he'd given us permission to spend two weeks in Cleveland and that he never needed to ask us about it again."

"I'll talk to him," she repeated firmly.

Minelli, rather surprisingly, seemed remarkably accepting about the whole thing, waving away Lisbon's hesitant explanations. She had aimed for something near the truth, while avoiding mentioning Xander Harris and all things related to him, and he seemed to accept the story of getting caught up with an abduction attempt on Van Pelt's cousin. Sort of true, she thought with a grin.

As she walked back to her office, she caught a glimpse of a familiar figure. Tall, broad and bald, there was no mistaking Sam Bosco. She waved cheerfully at him, glad that he had been moved to Sacramento. She missed their easy camaraderie – Jane was fun, but sometimes it was nice to talk to someone who actually understand the difficulties of managing a team – and found herself looking forward to catching up with him. And seeing what he made of Jane, of course.

To her surprise, he gave her a sheepish smile and hurried on without stopping to talk to her. Still, she reasoned, maybe he was worried over a big case. Not that it could be as big as the Red John case. It was a small matter of pride that she was in charge of the biggest case the CBI were currently handling, maybe one of the biggest the agency had ever handled. And it wasn't just because Jane worked with her. She was good and she knew it.

With a smile, she walked back into her office and started to catch up on her emails. Whatever Sam Bosco was doing in Sacramento, she had no doubts she would find out soon enough.

She had no idea that what Bosco was doing was taking her case away from her.

When she found out, Teresa Lisbon very seriously considered calling Xander Harris and asking him in more detail about vengeance demons.

* * *

A/N: And there we are: done at last! Everyone returned to where they should be for the start of Season 2, with only a few discrepancies from canon. Apart from the existence of demons and vampires, obviously! Thanks to all those who have reviewed already and all other reviews welcome, please.


End file.
